


Who Seek The Skies: Chapter Redirect

by quizasvivamos



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:53:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quizasvivamos/pseuds/quizasvivamos
Summary: ***This is not a separate story. It contains a completely disconnected collection of chapters for my "choose your own adventure" style story titled "Who Seek The Skies".
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

“Yeah, let’s make a wish,” Blaine decided, giving the skies his full attention. The absence of light pollution gave the illusion that an entire galaxy was mere miles from their faces, and he reveled in the feeling, imagining himself untethered and drifting through space. 

“Let’s wish that no matter what happens on this trip or later on down the road in college and life that we stay connected,” Rachel said.

“That’s an awfully ambiguous wish,” Blaine said. “Shouldn’t we be more precise with our wording to avoid some sort of magic mixup or shenanigans?” he joked. “We both saw Aladdin.” 

“This is a star, not a cunning genie, Blaine. What matters is that we know what it means to us.”

“You make a valid point,” Blaine said. “Okay, so we wish to always stay connected, right?”

Rachel nodded, taking Blaine’s hand. “Should we say it together, in true twin fashion?”

“You read my mind,” Blaine laughed, reaching to take Rachel’s hand. “On the count of three.” 

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three!” They squeezed each other’s hand. “I wish for us to always stay connected!” 

Their voices rang out in unison, momentarily halting the chirping of wary crickets and other nighttime creatures nearby. 

The nighttime sounds started up again, and just like that, the moment was over.

“I guess that’s it,” Blaine said.

“Did you expect something to happen?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Rachel said in a hushed voice. 

“Of course,” Blaine said.

“I did too.” 

“Is it too much to hope for some break from the mundane? I always secretly wished magic was real,” Blaine said. “I guess we watched too many Disney movies as children.” 

“Magic is real,” Rachel said.

“How do you figure?”

“Music is a form of magic,” she said. “It can make people move and feel things...it can make people fall in love -- with life and each other.”

Blaine’s mouth stretched in a silent yawn as he considered his sister’s words, admiring the profundity of what she’d said. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Rachel softly hummed a few seconds of Do You Believe in Magic before breaking into giggles. 

Blaine grinned, reaching for his sister’s hand and allowing his eyes to close. 

“I suppose dreams are a sort of magic too.”

“Sweet dreams, Blaine.”

“Sweet dreams, Rach,” he echoed. 

Sleep overcame the twins as soon as they settled down, hands entwined between their resting bodies. 

They would rouse to the sun shortly after dawn, the fire’s embers glowing ever so faintly and the smell of smoke wafting above their heads, clinging to their clothing, hair, and backpacks. The chittering of the creatures that resided in the wooded mountains filled the air, reminding the twins that it was time to get up and start moving once more. 

* * *

→ [Onward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63512155#workskin)


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m gonna have to pass,” Rachel said. “And unless you’re willing to leave me on my own in the wilderness, then it’s not going to happen. We are not following that creepy floating ball of light.”

When you’re up against a bull and you have nothing red in your possession, the best thing to do is back down. 

Blaine was no fool. Shoulders falling as he felt himself shrinking in defeat, he let out a resigned sigh. 

“Glad we’re in agreement.” Rachel grinned smugly, turning on her heel. “Even you’re not stupid enough to leave the tested trail.”

“Excuse me?” Blaine huffed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Let’s be honest, Blaine. You have a history of impulsivity.”

“Ah, yes, because it was my impulsive behaviors that got us into this mess in the first place.”

“Remember New Years sophomore year?”

Heat rose in Blaine’s face, prickling uncomfortably just beneath the surface of his skin. “Oh, c’mon! You’re never going to give that up, are you?”

“Does Hollywood discard the classics?”

“Well, at least I got my own spot in the memories of our senior yearbook.” Blaine knew that particular dig would shut his attention hog of a sister up, no matter how embarrassing his experience had been. “Regret and shame are wasted emotions -”

“I know, I know…” Rachel swatted at the air as if to shoo Blaine’s words away. “Small victories, I suppose.”

Rachel continued on, her footsteps never leaving the well-beaten trail, and Blaine followed reluctantly with his tail between his legs.

Neither knew how much time had passed as they neared a grove of evergreens that Blaine didn’t care to identify. It wasn’t until a strange flower growing out of the side of one’s bark caught his eye that he finally pushed the fog of humiliation away to examine it. 

Rachel looked over her shoulder once she’d realized he'd stopped. “Blaine, what are you-“

She blinked and recoiled as a large raindrop fell smack dab onto her nose. Before she could hold her hand out to feel if it was raining, the skies opened up, trapping the twins in an onslaught of blinding torrential downpour. 

Lightning fissured the sky, electric veins hastily branching, illuminating their suddenly dark surroundings and sending rumbling thunder in its wake. 

“Great! How are we supposed to see anything now?!” Rachel howled in frustration. “I’m soaked! We need to find shelter somewhere and fast!”

“I can barely see you,” Blaine yelled over the deafening roar of the rainstorm that was pummeling them with each quickening step. 

His boots squelched in the mud that replaced the trail, as they slipped and slid over rocks and between trees. 

Blaine kept his sister in his sight, his heart hammering hard in his chest, his lungs burning as he swallowed water with every breath. 

There was nowhere to hide, and nothing in sight. They were running blindly into the unknown wilderness, unsure of whether or not the path was still beneath their feet. 

Rachel’s foot caught a protruding tree root, and her body went tumbling like a ragdoll into a large muddy puddle.

Trembling, the rain masked her tears as Blaine helped her up, losing his balance a couple times in the process. 

Anchored once more, Rachel pushed on more carefully with Blaine in tow, headed toward a line of trees that appeared to open up into a clearing. 

Another blinding light like a camera flash engulfed them, and as their vision returned, they realized the rain seemed to have suddenly stopped. 

They were standing in a clearing untouched by any cruel force of nature. It was as if a chunk of Eden was planted in the Appalachians, contained in a bubble concealed in thick foliage and forest. 

The sun streamed through the full branches above, like a silk scarf caressing the ground and tickling the faces of large vibrant blossoming plants that dotted the landscape. 

All was quiet. A whisper would sound like the crack of a whip.

The only thing to be heard was the trickling of water, the source of which must have been nearby. 

With tremendous caution and as if they were treading on sacred grounds, they waded through the tall grasses and flowers, moving on tiptoe toward the sound. 

As they traveled deeper into the mysterious grove, the sound of running water turned into rushing water, and both Blaine and Rachel’s breath hitched as the trees opened up even more to reveal a dazzling waterfall. 

It appeared to be falling from a tall, obelisk-shaped rock face that rose about twenty feet or so. The source of the water was difficult to determine; nonetheless, it was a sight to behold for two weary travelers. Before them was a round, dark pool, the depth of which was impossible to tell.

There was a splash in the small spring into which the waterfall emptied, drawing both twins’ attention to a troubled spot in the water’s surface. 

Blaine threw an arm up to shield Rachel and jumped back as a head and unclothed torso bobbed up from beneath the deep shadowed waters. 

Unable to conceive exactly what he was looking at, Blaine’s brain finally caught up when the completely nude backside of a human-like being arose from the water, defying gravity as it drifted into the air and settled onto a nearby rock on the opposite bank. It was turned away, combing kelp from its hair with its fingers, and did not seem to notice them there.

Blaine’s heart was pounding, his body going berserk as he took in the ghostly pale, tall, slender, strikingly naked male form. 

Its skin was as smooth as the stone upon which it sat, somehow hard and glossy like armor yet fluid like the water that held its reflection below. 

He felt like he was intruding, his face burning, and his embarrassment growing as his pants grew tighter, his skin becoming slick with perspiration. Was it adrenaline? Or something else? Fight or flight should have kicked in, but amidst the uncomfortable feeling of being a voyeur was inexplicably a feeling of calm. 

Blinking hard, Blaine realized that he’d been staring like a preteen who’d just discovered pornography, a forbidden fleeting image on a tiny screen. 

But the male form was very solid and very much there, its eyes now slowly meeting his, growing wide in surprise at the sight of its onlookers. 

Blaine was about to shout a more than likely garbled apology, but he choked on his words as the unblinking, icy blue-green eyes bore into him as if they could see his soul, and suddenly he felt just as exposed as the being of the water. 

“Pardon,” it spoke, its voice a pleasant soprano. “Unless the sun has been unkind to you, I’m going to assume that scarlet is not your natural color.”

Rachel had closed her eyes and covered her face in an attempt to respect the privacy of what she believed to be a skinny dipper, her entire body trembling when she heard his voice. 

The creature slid from the rock, took a few gliding steps toward the reeds, twirled around once, and was now adorned in delicate robes composed of vibrant water lilies in an array of colors and verdant moss as sheer as chiffon. Its gown-like, ethereal garb was open in the front, exposing a smooth, toned, masculine chest, and was cinched at its slender waist, closed only by the groin and covering just enough to be socially decent; in its wake was a long train that moved as if it was composed of a sheet of morning dew and glowed with soft light as if suspended in time beneath the dawning sun. It appeared as if it had been plucked off the runway of an Elie Saab fashion show and dusted with divine essence. 

Blaine had been so transfixed on the creature that he hadn’t noticed the dark water turn crystalline the moment the being no longer made contact with the pool. 

“I always seem to forget how full of shame humans are when it comes to flesh,” it said more to itself. “This should be more appealing,” the creature addressed them again. “It’s okay to look now,” it said with a playful giggle.

Rachel peeked through a small gap in her fingers before slowly dropping her hands to her side. What she saw was something out of only the most flamboyant mind on Broadway or the creative mind of a haute couture designer, and she stood there in disbelief that any man would be prancing around in the wilderness alone scantily clothed solely by the nature around him. 

“Who are you, and what are you doing out here?” she said, feeling now like they were wasting precious time and should be getting back to the hiking trail. “Because, unless you can kindly point us in the direction of civilization, then we should be on our way.”

“Guiding is a specialty of mine,” it said. “Honey, I could ask you the same thing, after all, you’re the one who stumbled upon me bathing in my own home. But, my apologies. I am known sometimes as Kurt. And this,” it gestured toward the crystal spring, “is where I live.”

Rachel began to snicker but caught herself when she saw the soft, reverential expression on her brother’s face. 

She breathed a revelatory, “Oh,” and chose silence in one of the rarest occasions of her life. 

Whatever ‘Kurt’ was, Blaine knew it was a supernatural being who was affecting him in a way he couldn’t comprehend. The creature’s voice was like a song with a familiar quality, soothing and welcoming, of some distant time, that rests just on the tip of the tongue and manages to forever elude one who attempts to recall by reconnecting broken synapses, but that just couldn’t be placed. 

“We could use some guidance,” Blaine said, still unable to break eye contact. “Do you know the way? Back to the trail, I mean?”

Regardless of the creature’s supernatural aspect, Blaine was physically drawn to him. Save for the digitally altered models depicted in magazines, his beauty was incomparable, and he couldn’t help but want to get closer to him. 

“I know a way,” Kurt began. “But with a caveat, if I may. It is not direct, and it is not easy. You may want to turn back, you may feel as if you can’t possibly go on, but taking that path will take you exactly where you’re meant to go.”

Blaine always felt the need to understand and to analyze, which was why he performed so well in school and in the many theaters of his life. And not knowing Kurt or what he was was a puzzle that Blaine needed more pieces to and was determined to figure out. 

Blaine swallowed hard. “Why are you so willing to help us?”

Accessing his knowledge of mythology and lore from various works of fiction he’d read for school and for pleasure was currently proving to be difficult considering the beautiful distraction presenting itself. If he had had someone so marvelous and gorgeous in his classes, he thought he never would have been able to do so well in school. But perhaps he wouldn’t have cared. 

Kurt glided through the air, sending ripples over the water, and came to land just mere feet from Blaine. He took two soft steps forward, his face now inches from Blaine’s. 

Those entrancing eyes were searching his face, and Blaine could feel and smell his sweet, floral breath when he spoke again. 

“It’s in my nature.” 

Being at odds with himself was as commonplace to him as being at odds with Rachel. It was true that they were often a dynamic duo, working together like a well-oiled machine, complementing each other, but Rachel always had to take control and one-up Blaine in everything they did - unless he found something that was just for him that she couldn’t touch. Most of the time it was things that simply didn’t interest her, like Boy Scouts and college abroad and gay boys. 

“What do I have to do?” Blaine said breathlessly. 

All things considered, Blaine wanted to buy himself as much time as possible with Kurt so he could properly define this enigma and feel more grounded in his reality. And all things considered, Blaine selfishly wanted Kurt to be one of those just-for-him things. 

The creature caressed Blaine’s face before placing a firm but soft palm against his cheek. His fingertips rested at Blaine’s temple, causing his eyes to fall shut momentarily. 

“Follow me.”

“Wait a minute, Blaine -” Rachel interrupted, calling his name a few times when he didn’t respond before soon realizing that Blaine couldn’t hear her. It was as if he was under a spell, trapped in a strangely intimate moment, and her words of reason would only fall on deaf ears. 

“Where?”

Kurt removed his hand from Blaine’s cheek, his index finger now outstretched in the direction of the waterfall. 

* * *

—> [Blaine complies.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63513655)

OR

—> [Blaine declines the invitation.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109748/chapters/63513961)


	3. Chapter 3

“Sir, uh, I mean -” Blaine didn’t want to offend this possibly non-binary being. Weren’t angels supposedly sexless? Although, genderless, he still was very much male. This couldn’t be an angel, not really. Blaine was momentarily distracted again by the obvious bulge at the creature’s groin. 

Kurt very audibly cleared his throat. 

“Blaine!” Rachel called out again.

Blaine shook his head. “Yes, but, what I mean to say is that I can’t walk through a waterfall. That would be — absurd.”

Kurt appeared unperturbed. “I don’t believe I’m understanding.”

Blaine began to feel foolish and to question whether or not he was reading the signals correctly. “I guess I’ve never been good at reading situations like this,” he muttered, scratching his head. “Did you want me to follow you through -?” He pointed dumbly. 

Kurt chuckled. “Please. I haven’t got all day.”

“Neither do we,” Rachel butted in. “Wrap it up, Blaine. We really should find the trail again.”

Kurt’s spell seemed to take hold of Blaine yet again.

“But what about that thunderstorm? I’ve seen and read about instances where it can rain on one side of the street and be completely dry on the other. If we get caught in that again, we’ll be even more lost. Even worse, if we get caught in a mudslide down the mountain…”

“But you just said we’re not going to follow him through the waterfall,” Rachel reminded him.

“I’m not. But we still need guidance.” Blaine looked to Kurt, a pleading look in his eyes. He knew they were in a desperate position, but he was determined to hold his ground no matter the temptation. 

“There’s only one way,” Kurt said. “You seem to think there was a choice involved.”

“No,” Blaine said definitively. “There’s always an alternative.”

“You live or die by your choices.”

Kurt turned away, skipping lightly over the water’s surface, humming to himself.

“I really don’t like the way this guy talks,” Rachel hushedly told Blaine through the corner of her mouth. “This feels very serial killer-y.”

Sudden thirst overtook him, and Blaine reached for his canteen, bringing it to his lips for a drink. As he wiped at his mouth, he noticed Rachel was in a state of near full-blown panic.

“That’s impossible,” she said, holding the spout of her own canteen up to her eye. She shook the hollow vessel a few times, holding it completely inverted above her open mouth. She looked at her brother, and this time she couldn’t fight back tears. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Here,” Blaine offered, handing over his own. 

Without a second thought, Rachel brought it to her mouth, but instead of cool, refreshing, clear water, mud hit her mouth. 

She spat and coughed, dropping the sludge-filled canteen to the ground as she doubled over. Desperately scraping the dirt from her tongue, tears streamed down her face as her body begged her even more intensely for hydration. 

Blaine watched in transfixed horror, feeling like he had somehow poisoned his sister. He kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her back as she continued to cough and sputter and sob. 

“Why?” Rachel managed pitifully. “How?” Her throat felt scratchy and her mouth had become an arid desert. She clutched at Blaine’s arm, her voice a strangled croak. “I’m going to pass out..if I don’t drink…”

Rachel swayed uneasily, her vision beginning to blur around the edges. Yet, through her tunnel vision she could clearly see the sparkling spring, bubbling and foaming by the cascading stream over the rock side. Its clear enticing waters whispered to her, each ripple calling to her to drink. 

Snow White must have been starving out in the woods, she thought. To be so desperate as to eat a poisoned apple...but the waters weren’t poisoned. They couldn’t be. They were clear and clean and were the only thing that could quench her thirst and save her life. 

Rachel began to crawl, clawing her way through the earth like some demon out of a Japanese horror film, her fingernails becoming caked with dirt. 

Instinctively, Blaine hoisted her up, half-carrying and half-dragging Rachel toward the water’s edge. As he laid her down, she shoved her entire face into the water and began to drink like a dog that had been trapped out in the sun on an August day, lapping and panting as she gulped it down. 

Rachel suddenly became still, her body growing eerily rigid for collapsing face-first into the water, her head mostly submerged.

“Rachel!” he cried out, falling to his knees in the spring and taking hold of his sister to pull her out and turn her over. 

“What just happened?! What have you done?!” Blaine accused, turning to Kurt, who appeared unfazed and without intention to act. “What are you doing?! She’s- she’s not breathing! You need to help her!” he pleaded. 

Blaine ripped Rachel’s pack off her back, tossing it aside before placing the heel of his hand on her chest and desperately beginning compressions. 

He willed himself to stay focused and calm to recall his training. 

“Oh,” Kurt said as if he’d just now heard Blaine talking. “When I offered my guidance, it was to _you_. Paths like the one I’m taking you on are meant to be walked alone.”

Rachel was unresponsive. 

“But -” he gasped, “she’s my sister! I’m not leaving her behind for some strange - I don’t know what I would do without her. Losing her would be like losing a part of myself. You can’t let her die!”

“When a god extends an invitation, only then can a mortal enter and see what lies ahead. If I save her, know that there will be consequences,” Kurt warned. “There is room for only one where we’re headed, and if you say she is a part of you, then a part of you she shall stay. Is that what you truly want?”

“Yes! Please! Just save her,” Blaine begged on his knees, tears streaking his face as he shook uncontrollably, soaked from head to toe. He’d never felt so pathetic and vulnerable and helpless. 

With a flourish of his hand, Kurt said, “So be it.”

A gasping, coughing, sputtering, drenched Rachel bolted upright, her clothing glued to her slick skin and stretched over her petite, frail-looking frame. She gave a pained cry as oxygen reinflated and burned her lungs. 

Blaine’s arms were around Rachel within seconds, catching her from tumbling over weakly into the water again. Afraid he would lose her, he held her heaving body close to his, managing only a whisper as he uttered in her ear, “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” repeating it like a mantra until her body calmed and he eventually believed it. He brushed her sopping hair from her face, her head falling to rest on his shoulder. 

“Rach-?” Feeling the heavy weight of her limp body propped against him brought on another wave of panic.

“She’s alive,” Kurt said, answering an unasked question. “You insisted on bringing her along, so what are you waiting for?” He beckoned Blaine forward. “Oh,” he added, almost an afterthought, “I suggest you leave your bag behind. You won’t need it. And we certainly don’t need any more dead weight holding you back.”

Blaine had nearly forgotten his bag which he had set down on the bank by some reeds. He glanced back and knew that he hadn’t the strength to carry both his sister and the oversized, over packed backpack. Grateful that his canteen was clipped to his belt, he accepted the loss.

With as much care as he could muster, Blaine bent his knees and hoisted his sister up and over his shoulders, catching his breath and leaning forward before pressing on toward the waterfall with Kurt. He had only had to carry her like this one other time before after a night of debauchery at a particularly raucous cast party, and now that he had her, he wasn’t sure how long he could bear her weight. 

Blaine wanted to believe so badly that he wasn’t making the worst decision of his life. Rachel was alive, and for that he couldn’t be more grateful, but sudden reservations struck him like low-hanging branches, each blow harder with each step he took. But he carried the weight of his choices. Blaine wanted to believe that Kurt was a benevolent god or nature spirit or whatever he was. Blaine wanted to believe. 

The rushing water doused Rachel and cascaded over his head and shoulders as he passed under and through it, cool and foamy on his skin.

As he crossed the threshold, Blaine felt as if every molecule and cell in his body had dissociated and they were rearranging themselves. Eyes squeezed tightly shut at the incredible sensation, like a rollercoaster ride he regretfully wanted to end, Blaine flexed his fingers, still feeling the weight of his sister’s body. When he felt as if he were on solid ground again, he took a few deep, steadying breaths, and the world around him fell silent. 

* * *

→ [Onward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63514411)


	4. Chapter 4

Believing they had suffered enough discomfort already, Blaine acquiesced. 

Shade wasn’t too far off in the shelter of a grove of oak trees, so they dragged their tired limbs onward until they could no longer continue. Slumped beside the trunk of a tree, Blaine and Rachel fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. 

Rachel felt something like light material covering her face, and she blew a puff of air from her mouth, sending it fluttering to the side of her head. 

She opened her eyes to the soft sunlight streaming through oak branches and cotton-candy-lavender cirrus clouds, drifting silently across a fire-orange sky. The scent of honeysuckle wafted through the air, and Rachel almost closed her eyes again just as it dawned on her.

She was awake and she could see again. Yet, everything appeared oddly distorted, almost as if too many images were competing for focus. 

Blaine rubbed the sleep from his eyes, a blurry view of the skies coming into focus as he rolled from his side to his back. 

His clothing felt strangely soft and lightweight on his body, almost as if he wasn’t wearing anything at all. 

Blaine sat up quickly, examining his arms and then his legs then his torso. 

These weren’t his clothes. In fact, he had never seen anything quite like them from the mind of any designer he could name. When he looked over to his sister, their eyes met with the same baffled expression. She, too, was clothed head to toe in garb that appeared to be fashioned by supernatural beings and woven together with fine silk. 

_What is this?_ Rachel said, but her mouth did not move.

Blaine heard it all the same, his eyes growing wide. 

_Rachel?_ he thought. 

_Yes? Wait, why can I hear your thoughts? Why can you hear mine?_

_Something strange has happened._

_Blaine...close your eyes._

He complied.

Rachel’s vision of the world around her suddenly came into crisp focus, the dizzying kaleidoscope ceasing. 

She blinked hard.

Rachel was seeing through Blaine’s eyes, the distortion returning when he opened his eyes. 

“Blaine,” she spoke aloud, “this is way too weird. It’s as if we’re-”

“Connected psychically,” Blaine finished. “I know.” 

“And we’re wearing gowns that look like Kurt’s, but fancier.” Rachel shuddered. “I would like to know who took my clothes in my sleep, saw me naked, and then put me in whatever this is.” She looked down at herself. “I mean, I guess I can’t complain. It looks like something royalty would wear.”

“Um, Rachel…?”

She touched her head in response to Blaine’s thoughts and sight, feeling her hair neatly braided and wound around a thin, metallic-looking crown. 

“I’m a fucking Disney Princess,” she said.

Blaine couldn’t contain laughter that spilled out of him and echoed through the woods. 

“I’m not sure what any of this means, but it feels like a sort of cruel practical joke,” Blaine said, catching his breath. “I’m not going to sit around here and wait for someone to jump out at us either. Since there seems to be a path nearby, we should follow it until we find a town.”

“I don’t think we’re in Pennsylvania,” Rachel said. “I thought the weird shit was over. This doesn’t feel like resolution to me. Finding a town might be more difficult than we think.” 

“Won’t find out until we try.” 

The path down the mountain wound through trees and around boulders and even over a bubbling brook whose water refracted light into a rainbow all along its bottom. 

The unusual landscape was made even more unusual when the spiral roofs of dwellings in a small village tucked away in the valley became visible. 

Once they reached the edge of the village, they noticed it was quiet, its occupants preferring the shelter of their homes rather than wandering the streets. In fact, what was most peculiar was the apparent absence of people. The main road in the village twisted and climbed up a grassy knoll toward an intricately carved stone castle, which looked as if it were an artifact of Europe’s past or had been plucked out of a fairy tale. 

There was no way they had ever left the magical realm Kurt had transported them into. 

“I don’t understand this place,” Blaine began. “It looks like a ghost town, but it feels very much lived in. Do you think people are hiding because two strangers just walked into town?”

“Us? A few inches over five feet? We’re not that threatening, Blaine. But I’m sure we can find answers if we visit the castle.”

“What is the proper etiquette? Do you just walk up to a castle uninvited? That doesn’t seem right to me.”

“Considering the lack of guards or security detail of any kind, I’m going to assume it’s okay. We’ll just...knock.” 

Hesitating, Rachel toed the first step of the castle, and then regained her nerve as she skipped right up to the ornate wooden doors. Blaine was close behind, although not as eager, looking all around and half expecting an arrow or something to come flying out of some hidden area and strike them down. 

The doors slowly shifted, swinging inward on their hinges just as the twins had reached up to announce themselves. 

“Why do I get the feeling someone was expecting us?” Rachel said, shivering at the thought. “I hope it’s a Disney situation rather than a Phantom or Dracula one.” 

As they gazed inside the doors, it became apparent where the villagers had been the entire time. One by one and then in waves, heads turned and people began to take a knee, directing reverential looks toward Rachel and Blaine as they slowly made their way up an aisle amidst the crowd. 

Up on the platform at the end of the aisle were two thrones, sitting vacant. Rachel and Blaine halted before the platform.

Blaine turned to the closest villager and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but where are your, uh, leaders?”

The woman’s eyes grew wide, and she seemed to be fighting back a grin. “It’s about time we had someone with a sense of humor, My Lord.”

“My - what?” Blaine narrowed his eyes, disbelieving what he’d heard. 

Another villager spoke up this time. “Go on, take your seats.” He gestured with a wide wave to usher the twins toward the thrones. 

“Remember when I said I was a fucking Disney Princess?” Rachel muttered so only Blaine could hear her. “I might actually be a fucking Disney Princess now. You first,” she urged her brother, gingerly shoving him forward. 

“We are most humbled by your presence and wish to welcome you home.” 

Blaine’s mouth fell agape when he laid eyes on the individual who had spoken. 

“I am your royal advisor, your guide and confidant in your duties hereafter.” 

Kurt bowed to Rachel and then Blaine. 

_Blaine, I don’t trust him_ , Rachel thought, not wanting to voice it aloud. 

_I understand_ , Blaine responded psychically. 

_But you want to be with him._ It wasn’t even a question at this point. Rachel had access to Blaine’s most inner thoughts and desires, though she was trying her best not to intrude. However, Blaine’s brain was practically screaming in delight at the sight of Kurt again. 

_Do you really think this is a good idea?_ Rachel asked. _There’s so much to consider. Are we really stuck here, or is there still a way out to return to our normal lives? College, Blaine. Our friends and family. We have so much planned and so much life to experience._

_I know. But what if this is it, Rachel?_

_I want to go home. Can’t we conjure up some ruby red slippers and click our heels together or something?_

_Anywhere can become home._

* * *

→ [They stay.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109748/chapters/63575551)

OR

→ [They decide to go home.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109748/chapters/63575749)


	5. Chapter 5

_ What if… _

_ We were meant to find our way here… _

Rachel surprised herself when she was first to take another step forward, making her way to take a seat in the throne on the left. 

As she lowered herself into the ornate seat, she felt an indescribable sense of pride and power washing over her as she gazed out over the crowd of bowed heads. Never a stranger to the spotlight, she was at home. 

Blaine didn’t know what had come over him, but he felt compelled to follow her lead, taking his adjacent seat. 

Blaine felt his body rise as his posture straightened and chest puffed slightly out. He’s never known how it felt to be looked up to by so many people. 

A hand came to rest on Blaine’s shoulder, and he turned his head to see Kurt beside him, looking as regal as a prince. A strange sensation overwhelmed him, his stomach filled with flutters, and his body feeling lighter than it ever had. He felt as if the pressure of his past had been lifted and the burden of his trauma removed. 

A fresh start, Blaine thought, and Rachel nodded in acknowledgment. 

Destined for greatness, sure, but this was never the kind of greatness Rachel had imagined. Although it was nothing she could have ever conceived, it was still a future. One version of it, at least. And who knew if this was really where they ended. There were so many opportunities to begin again.

“It’s time,” Kurt spoke, summoning the twins. “The feast in your honor is set to begin soon. To your chambers, my lord and lady. I think you’ll be pleased with your garments for the evening.”

Laid out on Rachel’s bed was the most elegant floor length sapphire silk gown. The corseted bust hosted a pattern of lovely glistening crystals in what looked like all colors of the rainbow and that mimicked a quiet midnight rainfall when she walked around the room. It was impossible to tell how they were fastened on there, and she accepted that perhaps it was pure magic. At her heels was a train that floated just above the stone floor, like smoke hovering indefinitely above a flame. The perfectly matching shoes were impossibly comfortable, and Rachel thought that no red carpet look could ever top this one. Everything was made just for her. Everything was perfect. 

Blaine paced his chamber, half-clothed and feeling as if he wasn’t ready. For what, he wasn’t exactly sure. Certainly, there was nothing to fear about a party. Socializing was always something he was good at, even if it was mostly superficial. He knew how to please people and to perform. It came naturally to him. 

No, there was something else that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Just as he turned on his heel to walk back toward the bed, there was a knock at the door, startling him. 

Opening it a crack, Kurt’s face appeared on the other side.

He cleared his throat. “Do you mind?”

“Oh! No, not at all,” Blaine said, jumping back a bit to welcome the Naiad advisor into the room.

They stared at each other for a long couple of minutes before Kurt finally spoke again. 

“Well, out with it now. I’m sure everyone wants to begin the festivities, and we can’t have you pouting in your underclothes.”

“What - I’m not -“ Blaine quickly threw on the top of his outfit, fastening the cape-like jacket around his torso. “I know I made a choice - Rachel and I both made a choice - but I can’t help but still feel like there’s a catch.”

“A catch? What do you mean?”

“To all of this...I keep thinking that this is all just another fabrication of yours to teach me some sort of lesson. And once I’ve figured it out, won’t all of this just go away?”

Kurt appeared bemused, his smile falling away as he pondered Blaine’s words. 

“I need the truth now, Kurt. I think you owe me that.”

“The fabric between realms is thin, there is no doubt about that. But this isn’t an illusion. It’s very real and very permanent.”

“But what if I change my mind? I’d like to not lose my freedom to choose my own path.”

Kurt’s eyes dropped to the floor momentarily, meeting Blaine’s again with what Blaine could have sworn was a glisten of tears. 

“But haven’t you, though? Haven’t you made your choices?”

Blaine paused, his mouth agape and wordless. 

“I guess I have.”

“It’s never too late to go back and choose another path. Life is infinite like that, filled with possibilities and curiosities that can sometimes lead you off in directions you never could have imagined.”

“I don’t regret everything that led me here. But I do need to know...why did you choose me?”

Kurt chuckled, moving closer to place a gentle hand on Blaine’s cheek. 

Blaine felt the same energy from Kurt’s touch travel through his entire body as he had before. 

“You seem to forget that you found me. I simply put a few things into motion. You were always in control of your fate.”

“But it was your magic that determined my destination.”

“There was no stronger magic than your voice, which cut through the veil and awakened the spirits of the forest.” 

“My song…” Blaine was remembering now, the dulcet solemn tones of the ballad he’d sung just before the earth trembled and quaked. 

“Come now, Blaine. You’re worrying yourself over trivial matters. Some questions are better left unanswered. Besides, I can hear the party starting without us.” Kurt held his hand out to Blaine. “It’s time to be present.” 

After a beat, Blaine took it and allowed Kurt to lead him away back into the crowd of jubilant villagers. 

It was time to be present. Blaine had worried himself over the past and the future for far too long that he was forgetting that sometimes it was necessary to simply be. 

So he ate and he drank and he danced. And once his belly was full of blackberry wine and his body was moving fluidly and freely to the music, spinning around and around, Blaine found himself laughing and singing and breathing. 

A familiar voice caught Rachel’s ear, and she tried desperately to place it. Just as it clicked, a human-like creature bumped into her with almost enough force to topple her in her impaired state. 

Rachel gasped when she came face-to-face with someone she’d never thought she’d run into again.

“Quinn!”

The troll turned at the mention of her name, her mouth stretching in amusement once she recognized Rachel. She was much more beautiful than Rachel had imagined when she was blind. 

“My Lady,” she greeted, “what a pleasure to be in your presence.”

Rachel might have been drunk off two goblets of wine, but she could still hear the hint of sarcasm in the troll’s voice. 

“You-“

“My apologies,” Quinn said with a bow. “When I first met you, I was unaware of your lineage.”

“So was I,” Rachel said. 

Quinn laughed, offering Rachel a genial smile. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For your time. And your words.”

“On the bridge? What is it exactly that you took from my brother?”

“I didn’t take anything. I don’t collect things, remember?”

“But the three questions, your toll-“

She laughed more shrilly this time. “The boy needed to speak aloud what was weighing heavy inside him. I simply gave him a sense of urgency. He’s indecisive, and sometimes people like that just need a little push. Or a therapist.”

Rachel was caught off guard and let out a nervous laugh. “Or maybe just a friend,” Rachel said. 

“Friends are rare creatures,” Quinn said. 

“You know, you’re not as scary as I thought you would be,” Rachel said before she could catch herself. 

“Humans often make ugly what they cannot understand or possess. It’s how they maintain a sense of ownership and power over the world around them.”

“I’m sorry I ever thought trolls were awful.”

“I’m glad to see that your vision has returned. It seems like you’re expanding your perspective.”

“You have no idea.” Rachel blinked hard, refocusing her sight as best she could. She could see Quinn clearly enough beside her, yet an image of Kurt had settled in her line of sight, like a permanent image etched in her periphery. 

The Naiad had wandered off, weaving through the partygoers, until he found his way to the fountain in an atrium just off the large dining hall. He watched as its basin steadily filled and drained as the water travelled its way back up through the fish-shaped spout at its center. 

“Oh, there you are. I was looking for you.”

Kurt turned at Blaine’s voice, knowing that Blaine had been following him the duration of the evening. 

“Hello again, Blaine.”

He wasn’t using formal titles, which struck Blaine as odd, yet he didn’t mind some casual normalcy. After all, his new position in this realm was a bit jarring and would take time to get used to.

“Why did you really bring me here?” Blaine said.

“The water is where I am most at peace,” he said. 

“No, that’s not what I meant. Why did you bring me here? To this realm, to this village?”

“I suppose I saw something in you.”

“Is it because you couldn’t have me unless I became part of your world?”

Kurt dropped his gaze to the floor as he had done earlier, almost bashful. “It’s not customary for a Naiad to attach itself to one person. But I’m not the type of narcissistic god who feels the need to spread his seed all willy-nilly.” Kurt looked upward through the open ceiling toward the night skies as if he were looking at someone in particular. 

Although he found himself laughing at the comment, Blaine felt heat creeping just beneath his skin, his neck and face flushing. 

“I didn’t need to bring you here, but I selfishly wanted to.”

“Couldn’t you have come back to my world?” 

Kurt sighed. “There is an infinite number of ways in which I could have found my way to you, infinite time periods, infinite settings, infinite roles, and infinite circumstances. But I very much like this particular one.”

Blaine was rendered speechless as he attempted to process Kurt’s words. 

“Like soulmates?” He finally said, almost a whisper.

“Like two people inextricably drawn to each other despite knowing nothing about the other. Complementary halves. Zeus sure did a number on the world.”

Blaine laughed again, allowing himself to absorb the true weight of the moment. “I like how that sounds,” he said, venturing to take Kurt’s hand.

His fingers grazed Kurt’s, and Kurt slid his fingers to fit perfectly into the spaces between Blaine’s. It felt so natural, as if the universe had imposed its gravity to pull them together, making them whole again. 

Blaine’s eyes grew wide at the sight before him. Just as they’d joined hands, the water within the fountain began to roil and ripple, then suddenly a full spectrum of light emanated from its surface, creating a colorful display. 

The light beam rose and snaked its way into the air, wrapping itself around Kurt and Blaine’s bodies. 

Their mouths met in a kiss that felt as if it could have moved mountains and toppled cities, the immensity of emotion that built inside of Blaine finding its escape through his lips, then hands and fingers, tangling themselves in Kurt’s hair and holding on until the crushing wave passed. 

A soft hum of music filled the air, not fanfare, but a single melodious stream of notes, like a tiny, sinewy thread winding itself around the two like the twine on a perfectly wrapped package. 

Breathless, they separated.

Blaine couldn’t look Kurt in the eyes, his entire body thrumming with this newfound indescribable feeling. Perhaps it was magic. Perhaps it was the music. Perhaps it was a miniscule bud of love about to open and bloom into something full and magnificent. 

Whatever it was, Blaine was present, sinking into it like a warm bubble bath after a long, strenuous journey or the arms of his dad after an emotionally grueling school day. 

And he just allowed himself to  _ be _ .

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine’s waist, pulling him close once more. He spoke quietly, mouth close to Blaine’s ear, like a postcoital lover.

“This is one ending, I suppose. And a happy one. But remember, you can always go back and choose a different path. So,” he whispered, “are you ready for another adventure?”

[ **THE END?** ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63510670)


	6. Chapter 6

“I-“ Blaine began, “We are very honored to be chosen to lead your people, but this is not our home,” Blaine boldly announced, uncertain of how it would be received. 

“Very well,” Kurt said. “But, please, attend the feast in your honor tonight before you take your leave. You must be starving. If nothing else, our hospitality here is superb.”

Neither Rachel nor Blaine could decline or deny their hunger. 

The welcome-turned-send-off party was like nothing either twin could have imagined. As someone with a vegan diet, Rachel had never eaten so well in her life or had so many choices. It was as if everything was tailored specifically to her, not just the even more extravagant gown that was gifted to her to wear to the feast. She was almost regretting their choice to leave all of this behind or at least to not linger for just a few more days. 

But days could turn to weeks and weeks to months and months to years very quickly if they were not careful. If they allowed this place to take hold of them and themselves to fall in love with this new way of life, then they might never be able to walk away. 

But, alas, going home seemed like the only choice at this point. There was no good way to justify throwing away their past and future. Home was where every memory they had was made, where hearts were full and sometimes broken, and where they had found their footing in the world of musical theatre. Too much was at stake. They simply couldn’t accept a permanent role if they were to continue growing and learning and loving. 

Blaine and Rachel ate and drank and danced, blackberry wine sloshing in their cups as they twirled and coordinated steps became messy and off-beat. 

A hand took Blaine’s, spinning him around until he was face to face and nearly nose to nose with Kurt, who swayed him gently to the music, leading him around the ballroom.

“Haven’t you been dreaming and wishing for some magic in your life?” Kurt said, holding Blaine close to him now.

Blaine sighed, content in the arms that held him. “But it’s not real,” he said. “I had my adventure, and now I’m ready…”

“You know, I had a feeling about you,” Kurt began, clicking his tongue. 

“What kind of feeling?” Blaine grinned a dopey grin.

Kurt whispered softly into his ear. “There’s magic in you.”

Blaine’s eyelids fluttered, their proximity and the tenderness in how Kurt spoke and held him sent goosebumps up and down his arms and he felt himself blush. 

“Your voice is what woke the forest and brought you to me.”

“This right here,” Blaine murmured. “Even after we’re long gone from this place, this will remain a cherished memory. I would like to hold on to it.”

“Then hold me for a little bit longer.”

They danced a bittersweet dance as the evening grew into night. 

Sometimes after goodbyes, there are so many wonderful chances to say hello once more. 

Sometimes goodbyes were just that. It was time for this moment to become a memory. 

Blaine and Rachel retired to their bed chambers, drowsy and warm from their night of romance and wonder. Content to have had their taste of magic and fantasy, the twins succumbed to restful sleep, cozy and safe and full of hope for tomorrow. 

Away in his own chamber, head hung, Kurt snapped his fingers with a sigh, sending Blaine and Rachel’s memories of the day sailing into the wind to scatter like dandelion seeds, never to be whole again. 

There was one drunken wish that Kurt could not grant. 

Blaine roused to the sounds of birdsong and the gentle whistle and rustle of a breeze through the leaves of nearby trees. 

Rachel blinked her eyes open, wanting to immediately close them again, the blaring sunlight causing her sensitive eyes to tear. She squinted as they adjusted and the world around her came into focus. 

But the sun wasn’t to blame for the tears that hit her eyes. To see color again, shapes, life, the earth shifting and movement... 

“Blaine…” her voice cracked, though it contained a hopefulness. 

When her brother turned at the mention of his name and their watery eyes met, it brought on a new wave of joyful tears, and they embraced.

After letting go, they looked each other up and down. Both appeared as if they’d been to hell and back, their muddy tattered and torn clothes, Rachel’s bare feet, caked with dust and dirt and grass-stained, their hair looking like the end of a long day on the beach in the saltwater of the ocean followed by whipping evening winds. 

And then laughter filled the air. 

“I can’t believe it,” Rachel said, catching her breath. 

“We’re alive,” Blaine sighed. 

Rachel’s feet were sore, though she barely felt the cut now. Kneeling, she peeled back the makeshift bandage, gasping at the sight of the wound. It wasn’t raw or red, but pale and raised like scar tissue. 

“My foot is healed,” Rachel said, running her fingers over the ridged skin. 

“That’s...incredible.” Blaine couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

“I’m going to need some shoes,” Rachel declared after a brief pause. 

“Then we’re going to need to find a store,” Blaine said with a laugh. 

“So, then we’re in agreement that our backpacking trip is over?”

“Absolutely, no question.” Blaine didn’t hesitate for even a second. 

“Good! I can’t take it anymore! What the hell was I even thinking?! What were we thinking?” Rachel massaged her foot, using Blaine to keep her balance. “I hope you know where we should go from here.”

Blaine nodded. “Since the beginning of time, people have known that we need water. So, if we’re trying to get back to civilization, we need to follow where that river goes.” Blaine pointed. “C’mon. I need a real bed to sleep in. And a shower.”

“And a warm meal,” Rachel added. 

“You never know what you have until you ‘yeet’ it off a mountain, right?” Blaine jested. 

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Just go. You know I’ll be close behind.”

From where they stood, they could see the Schuylkill River, winding around the hills, but no sign of other humans besides the electrical lines strung and stretched high over the mountaintops. 

Once they had reached the steep banks, they hiked along the waterway until a town came into view in the distance. Reenergized by adrenaline, the twins picked up their pace. 

The ‘Welcome to Historic Hamburg’ sign was a beacon to the weary travelers. 

Being surrounded by civilization again made the hike through the town feel less strenuous, although Rachel’s feet were beginning to grow raw from the pavement, and she was certain that she’d received more than a couple pitying looks from passersby who probably thought she was homeless. 

Of all the things they’d left behind, both were grateful that Blaine still had his wallet tucked safely away inside his shirt. 

When they’d reached Fourth St and realized that the “no shoes, no service” signs currently applied to them, Blaine stepped inside a boutique and grabbed the first pair of flip flops he could find in Rachel’s size just so she would be permitted into any establishment.

Located between a homemade soap shop and a small theater in the center of town, the twins stumbled upon a coffee shop with the words Four Twelve boldly displayed on its front window. 

God, coffee would be such a luxury and return to comfort and routine for Blaine, so he led the way in. 

Rachel grabbed a table as Blaine got in the thankfully short line. Looking at the menu proved difficult when the man behind the counter caught his eye and held his attention. 

Blaine blinked hard, disbelieving what he was seeing. 

It was the Naiad from the spring, only it wasn’t. He had the same face, the same piercing eyes, the same broad, slightly upturned nose, but his hair was shorter and coiffed in the front, his skin tone was still pale, but slightly sunkissed as was usual for the season, and his body, although covered up by his uniform, was tall and slender, yet toned through his tight-fitting shirt. And when he turned around to make another customer's coffee order, that ass was unmistakable, hardly hidden beneath the thin fabric of his pants. 

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed.

The man wore an odd expression and then gently shook his head, pointing to the name tag on his left breast. “That’s my name. What can I get for you today?”

“Just a- a medium drip, please. Make that two, actually, with a flavor shot of caramel in the one. And, um…” Blaine glanced at the menu. “Two of the avocado, egg, and cheese waffle sandwiches. Hold the egg on one, please.”

“Coming right up, sir,” he said with a smile. “Can I get a name for the order?”

Blaine paused, his brow furrowing. “You don’t remember me?”

“I’m sorry, sir. We get a lot of people through here, and I’m not always good with names. Faces, usually, but I don’t remember seeing you in here before.” Kurt looked sincerely baffled and apologetic.

“It’s Blaine,” he said, taking his receipt when it was handed to him. “Thank you. I’ll just, uh -“ he gestured toward the table where Rachel was seated, “wait over there then.”

There was a ringing in Blaine’s ears as he walked slowly toward his sister. He felt the very foundation of his reality crumbling at the thought of Kurt not recognizing him after all that he’d put him through. 

There was no way that what they’d experienced was just some mass hallucination. They had shared memories. Rachel even had a scar to prove it, didn’t she? 

When Blaine turned around, it was as if Rachel had read his mind. She was examining her foot, her eyes focused and brow furrowed.

“It’s gone,” she said, once Blaine took his seat across from her. “I felt it, Blaine. It was real. But now it feels like I’ve dreamt the entire thing.” 

“It was real, Rach. But there’s something that doesn’t make any sense. Don’t be obvious, but look at the employee at the counter.”

Rachel peered past Blaine, briefly locking eyes with the man at the counter before looking away in embarrassment. Then she did a double take, her jaw dropping. “That’s _him_.”

She started to get up, but Blaine stopped her. “Well, that’s what I thought too. It’s not him. At least, I don’t think it could be, considering he doesn’t know who we are.” 

“Blaine!” a female voice called out, and he stood up to retrieve their food and drink order. 

Kurt was no longer at the counter. In his place was a young woman with wavy auburn hair and those chunky hipster-style glasses. 

Hunger made Blaine momentarily indifferent to Kurt’s sudden absence, and he and Rachel sat for a while and savored every bite of their unusual yet delicious sandwiches, topping off the refueling of their bodies with some of the best coffee they’d ever tasted. 

Perhaps it was the deprivation of simple pleasures that made them appreciate what they now had so much more. 

“Rach,” Blaine finally spoke after they’d sat there in silence, their mouths too busy with a more pertinent activity, “I’m actually really...grateful for what we experienced.”

“I’m grateful we survived.”

“Exactly. But I think what happened was exactly what we needed, ya know? We kept trying to prove something to each other, but for what?”

“I think we proved that no matter what life throws at us, we’ll weather it together — even if we’re physically apart.” Rachel was quiet for a beat. “You know that no matter where you are, if you need me, I’ll come running, right?”

“Of course, Rachel.”

“It’s just — I never really planned for you to...not need me. And you’re just going to be...gone. Any chance you might change your mind?” 

Blaine was unsure of how he felt about Rachel’s perceived codependence. He decided to shrug it off, knowing that his sister needed to feel important. But, no, there was no chance of him changing his college plans. At least, not as long as he was in control. 

However, even with all the survival skills under his belt from camping with his Boy Scouts troop, Blaine was finding that self-sufficiency and independence is not marred or devalued by needing or accepting the help of others. After all, humans are meant to be interdependent and connected physically and emotionally, and it wasn’t a sign of weakness to not always know the answer and to not be able to help oneself. 

“Who really knows where they’re going?” Blaine began to think aloud. His eyes were downcast as he spoke. “Even the best laid plans can be derailed when the universe has other plans. Sometimes an ending is nothing more than an exhalation before taking another breath.”

“Wow, Blaine. You're getting deep on me.”

“I guess an existential crisis will do that to you,” he said, though he felt as if his words had not been solely his own. 

Rachel’s eyes fluttered, and her head dipped. Despite the jolt of caffeine, she was still ready for a full night’s sleep. 

“Let’s get ourselves a hotel room,” Blaine said through a yawn, escorting his sister out of the cafe. 

But as they crossed the threshold, the world around Blaine flashed and for a few seconds he felt as if he had returned to the other realm. The coffee shop looked strange, the atmosphere suddenly heavy and warped like a salvia trip. He turned back toward the counter area only to see the Naiad staring directly back at him, dressed only in a knowing smirk. 

Before he could call out to him, the room flashed around him again, and he was transported back. He swung the door back open, frantically scanning the shop for Kurt, but to no avail. He had once again vanished. 

Blaine could not find the words to express to Rachel what he had experienced. It was obvious that it was something they had not shared. 

That evening, he laid awake in his rented bed, tortured by the events of the evening. When his mind finally calmed enough to fall asleep, it had been to thoughts of the shooting star and the fantastic journey that left him feeling as if he could never go back to feeling normal. 

And there he was again.

Blaine could see him so clearly, in his mind’s eye. As he drifted in and out of REM sleep, he realized he wasn’t dreaming at all and that he hadn’t ever fallen asleep. 

“Kurt…” he whispered, sitting up in bed. “Is it really you this time?”

“It is.” 

Blaine rose to his feet and took a few steps toward the alluring creature. 

“I’m still in my hotel room, aren’t I?”

“You are.”

“Then I can see your world. Why?”

“I don’t have that answer,” Kurt said. “Your ability to see past the veil into my world while remaining in your own is unprecedented.”

“But you’re...happy,” Blaine proffered, attempting time read Kurt’s expression.

“You can see right through me,” he said with a bashful bow of his head. 

Blaine didn’t want to hold back any longer, feeling the tug of Kurt’s spell like a tightly coiling wire, pulling them closer and closer until…

Kurt’s hand flew up to catch Blaine’s, stopping him before their mouths could meet. 

Blaine’s eyes grew wide and questioning. 

“It’s not time yet.”

And then Blaine was surrounded by the mundanity of the roadside hotel room, the covers on the bed left pulled back. 

Overwhelmed with disappointment, he climbed back beneath the covers and drifted in and out of a light sleep until early morning. 

Blaine was jolted awake by Rachel’s shrill scream, and he leaped out of bed, his body entering fight mode. 

The door of the hotel room was wide open, swinging gently on its hinges despite its weight and the absence of a breeze.

Rachel continued to shriek, sitting up in her bed with the covers pulled up to her chin. 

It felt almost as if they were both paralyzed, unable to approach the doorway to close it. They were exposed, not knowing what or who was responsible for opening their hotel.

A dozen horrible thoughts and fears invaded Blaine’s mind, suddenly wondering if someone was currently inside the room with them. His heart raced as his eyes darted wildly to every spot visible from where he stood.

“Did you see something?” he asked her in a hushed voice.

She gulped and shook her head. 

Blaine wanted to close the door, yet he felt oddly compelled to grab his belongings in his pack and walk through the open door. 

Danger still felt imminent, yet his curiosity felt stronger. 

Nothing made sense anymore. 

* * *

→ [Blaine closes the door.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63574987)

OR 

→ [Blaine grabs his pack and walks outside.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109382/chapters/63575272)


End file.
